A New Dawn 109 An omnious reques

"Bah, a bunch of foolish youngsters. Wait and see when your back will hurt like mine. You will be glad to have kept some of your gold and not spent everything on drinks, food or women." Even as he was nagging a bit, it was on the tone of jokes, and his big smile betrayed that. None of those that heard it truly took note of what he said, if they did not enjoy their lives to its fullest, what was the point of being an adventurer?

"Fine, fine, we will behave gramps Dickon. Just don't kill us by starting one of your sermons. I swear you could kill a man with those things." The youngest of the group, a brat of nearly 25 years, was hit on the head after saying this. Looking around, he couldn't guess who was the culprit, everyone suddenly looking at the ceiling while whistling.

"Respect your elder for once. You can call yourself whatever title you want, Sword of Ronta or best swordsman, no one would care. But sometimes, you won't be able to unsheathe your weapon before a monster fall on you. Geez, how did you even survived that long?" The fourth member of the group, a mage, was calmly drinking his cup while roasting his younger friend. If someone looked at the group, he would see the four leaders of the best adventurers in the region.

The reason why they were reunited was because of something unusual that happened the very morning. The Guild Master of the city summoned them, to discuss a request made by a noble. Apparently, someone had discovered an ancient grave near the mountains, something created by the Dark Gods. Because they had no idea what was inside, they wanted to use the adventurers as explorers.

Even if Kozak was not particularly enjoyed by such request, he still wanted to know a bit more about the specifics. The main point was the extremely huge reward, something that could be considered as their annual earnings. Just to explore one tomb or whatever it was. Facing this, no one could say that they were not interested.

"Because you will have to cast a spell? Anyway, let's forget the bad jokes and unfounded critics. What are your views on this thing?" The berserker finally started the real discussion. However, no one was willing to go first, since it was truly a weird request. Maybe the biggest the adventurers of Ronta had in many years. Sensing that no one wanted to talk, Kozak started.

"I don't feel good about this. This is so unexpected, I mean, an ancient cave from the Age of Darkness? I don't know if it is real, or the noble is misleading us to do something else. But there is a possibility to only accompany the convoy and defend it while others explore the cave, so I will probably choose this option. After knowing what we will face, my team will choose if we enter or not."

His worries were shared with the 3 other men. If not for the name of the noble that was real and the enormous reward, they would have dismissed it as a joke. Violently slamming his fist on the table, the youngest agreed.

"I am with you on that point. I, Hugo, will also wait and see." He immediately drank the entire bottle that was in front of him. The other two were shocked, wondering if he was drunk or what? Since when this reckless brat did not act first and think after?

"I did not survive this long to die this old, if that noble try to pull a trick on us, he will see why we are called adventurers."

"Only someone stupid would barge into a place without at least knowing what to expect. He can only ask us to take a look, but if he wants to pressure us to enter that tomb, he will have a hard time. Let's see how he will react when he will find out that we are not suicide squads ready to die as he wants."

The rest of the discussion mainly focused on what to expect if it was true. The most certain thing was the presence of at least a few undead. Everyone had in mind the current state of Pankow, but which undead was the question. After so many years, could they have survived? They were experts at killing them, not knowing their life expectancy. With this in mind, the old man called Dickon proposed to contact one of his friends, a knight of Kirof. They could never be too careful.

The request had a deadline, three days from this point. With this, they had all the time to truly be fully equipped, from head to toe. Using all their contacts, the four teams of adventurers managed to gather an impressive collection of weapons. The magician managed to borrow a few things from his peers and buy with a reduction numerous potions. The cost of everything was shared by everyone since they could never know if it couldn't be used later.

The morning of the departure, the adventurers couldn't but frown at the spectacle. Surrounding multiple carts pulled by well-fed horses, a dozen men and women in armor were waiting. Apparently, it wasn't just the adventurers that were requested to explore it. Both groups always had a slight animosity between them, both thinking that the other was stealing their job. An elegantly dressed servant appeared from the crowd of mercenaries, visibly the one in charge.

"Messires, Mesdames adventurers, I am glad that you have accepted this request. My lord, Reggie Blackwood will be pleased. May I ask if you have everything you need and we can begin our travel?" The four leaders looked at each other and simply nodded. If the carts were mostly empty, there was still provisions and tents for the few days where they will be traveling.

Neither the adventurers nor the mercenaries talked with each other, clearly staying on their side. This didn't matter for the servant, however, since he made no move to fix the situation. Even if the first day was calm, by the second day, Hugo organized a small reunion about something bothering him.

"Did anyone noticed something weird about the drivers? Even if they seemed to be simple servants, I can't see if they possess a weapon or not. The way they are dressed, it is not normal." The more he talked, the more the others remembered the details that were out of place. However, Dickon was a bit familiar with those situations, thanks to his age. Adopting a condescending posture, he talked like a teacher lecturing his student.

"Little boy, do you really think a noble will left a group of mercenaries and adventurers near a potential treasure without doing anything? This servant is maybe a decoy, but those drivers are probably the personal guards of Lord Blackwood. He wouldn't use someone without any fighting experience to guard those carts. My advice, don't seek a fight with them."

Even if Hugo was slightly pissed by the way the old man talked, he was not brainless. He could clearly understand the underlining thoughts beyond the words, that his suspicions were true. It was just that it wasn't a trap or anything alike, but something logical. Nonetheless, he still kept watching those drivers, not reassured in the slightest, knowing that they were probably experts.

After arriving at the bottom of the mountains, the convoy finally stopped. Because the night was getting closer, one last bivouac was organized, to start at dawn. Right before the servant reached his tent, he was stalked by the four adventurers. Feeling a bit weird, being encircled by them, he was still confident that they wouldn't dare to do anything.

"What can I do to help in this late night?" All he received was silent, not even cut by the sounds of the forest nearby. This part was left untouched by the violent fire that happened a few months ago, but strangely, the various animals that should be present were gone. This intensified the sentiment of unease he felt, but even if inside he was scared, he would never show it on his face.

"We don't plan on entering the tomb at dawn, we will wait for the return of the mercenaries first." Even if they were saying this calmly, the servant couldn't help but curse them. They will be paid for this, what was the point of being so cowardly. Of course, he couldn't say this since any one of them could probably kill him in a second. Grinding his teeth, he still amiably acknowledged the issue.

"You know that the rewards are based on the exploration of the tomb. If you only guard the carts, I will not be responsible if you are only paid a fraction of what was promised." Unfortunately, they seemed to be certain about their decision.

"We know, but we won't throw ourselves into a trap. But don't worry, if there is nothing rivaling the Dark Gods inside this, we will accomplish our missions." After the magician said that, the four left the angered servant by himself. He was, after all, only the voice of his lord, not worth their attention.

The reactions of the mercenaries, on the other hand, was far more violent. Cursing the adventurers to be eunuchs, maimed, blinded and everything that could be related to a malformation of the body. But even with that, they could only charge forward, alone. Generally, due to the misperception of the public for the mercenaries, they were underpaid compared to adventurers. So, if for Kozak, it was an annual earning, it was nearly three years of salary for the other fighters.

Filled by greed, they could only climb the mountain, and see the drivers in front of an enormous gate. Even the adventurers that followed them were taken aback. The terrifying statues on each side were looking like they could just start moving and murder everybody. But the most important part was still the massive dimension of the entrance, how could someone miss that?

It was too far from their encampment to be seen, but it should have been impossible for the soldiers regularly patrolling here or even training to not find it. However, the 13th Legion had withdrawn from this place a while ago, meaning that it probably was discovered after they left.

One mercenary slightly bolder than the rest extended his hand to touch one statue. The horrifying monster, fully armored and holding that giant axe was still only stone in the end. But, the moment he touched it with his hand, he couldn't help but feel cold. Extremely cold. Looking above, the eyes graved were almost ... moving? Panicked, he fell on his back and quickly used his hands to distance himself from it.

Following this, no one truly wanted to enter it anymore. Even the drivers had their hands on their weapons, not truly certain that it was not extremely risky. It was at this moment that Kozak noticed something behind them. Approaching his mage friend, he pointed at the device, wondering what it was. His reaction was instantaneous, and he pulled Hugo and Dickon with him.

"Let me warn you, this place still has mana inside it! If you enter it, be warned that anything could be cast, from the 1st to the 10th Circle. They used a device that could be called the glutton. It has another name, but this one is more simple. Fundamentally, it is used to siphon the mana out of a mana shield or a magical barrier. The reason why no one found this was because of this."

The others understood his words, but they couldn't help but feel that his intense reaction was too much. It was just magic in the end, and Hugo couldn't help but blurt that out. "Hey, so what if there was a shield, it is gone now. So, it can't be that dangerous."

Smack

Once more, he was hit on the head by the magician. Looking at the other two that were reacting the same way as they did a few days ago, the young adventurer could only suffer in silence.

"It's the Dark Gods we are talking about, the DARK FUCKING GODS! If I haven't seen the fact that they used a glutton to breach through, I could have been convinced to enter. Now, I am out, see you in Ronta. I have to warn the Academy."

Without waiting any further, he picked up his crew and started walking all the way to Ronta. Even if the ones that followed him were bewildered, they still trusted him about anything related to magic. Their sudden departure also grabbed the attention of the mercenaries, that couldn't help but wonder what made them leave?

"This was a bad idea. I am tempted to follow him ..." The old Dickon patted his beard but was cut by the intervention of the servant. The latter was feeling that the situation was getting out of hands. Even those accompanying him were fearful of the statues, the statues that were not even inside the tomb.

"Everyone, listen to me. Thanks to the grace of Lord Blackwood, everything you will find in this tomb will be yours. We will not take anything from you." Desperate times required desperate measures. The previously shaking and fearful fighters suddenly had their eyes shining with a new light. There were only a few problems in the world that could not be solved by a huge amount of gold, and it was those that needed an even bigger amount of gold.

Chapter end